U.S. Patent Application publication No. 2006/0117805, assigned to Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. discloses a loose fitting garment with a sensor band of generally smaller dimensions than the garment itself. The sensor band is elasticized to conform against the user's body, while the remainder of the garment is relatively loose fitting. The sensor band holds sensor electrodes incorporated in the band against a wearer's body. The sensor band is attached to the remainder of the garment by highly elastic and flexible webbing or linking portions that are formed by changing the knitting needles to reduce the tubular diameter of the circular knit in the process of knitting the garment, adding significant additional time and complexity to the knitting procedure.
Seamless tubular or circular knit garment blanks have been formed with a band or welt at one or more edges or selvages of the tubular blank. A band is typically a doubled over edge used for ornamentation, reinforcement or supporting the garment on the wearer, or any combination of these. U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,367 assigned to Sara Lee Corporation shows a circular knit brassiere construction with a lower band portion. U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,784 assigned to Alba-Waldensian, Inc. shows another brassiere construction with an integrally knit cylindrical tubular welt or band portion at the lower edge of the brassiere.
Heretofore, it has not been known to form an integrally knit band portion located in a central portion of a knit garment blank that is intended to remain as a band portion at the central portion of the finished knit garment. Most particularly, it has not been shown to form a band portion in a central portion of a garment wherein the upper and lower portions of the garment are single fabric plies.